St. Paul daily globe., 1887-10-22
legislative session higher levy is generally

1889 was mills, Tor 1856 1t was IL mIlls,i
and for 1887 it was 30 mills.
RAIL AND RIVER.
Considerable space is devoted to the
railroads, and figures regarding the
amount of building are freely quoted
from official reports. The total new,
mileage in 1887 is given as III miles,
making 4,20S miles of railroad now Ing
operation in Dakota. In addition t9i
this 301 miles were graded in 1887, butt
not irOned.
Nine steamboats, were engaged this seasoni
Mont, and three between Sioux City,
To-, and points within the territoryg
1t is estimated that these boats will handle
during the season of navigation upwards Of
100000 pounds OF freight. =
On the Red River of the North, between
Fargo, OAK, and Winnipeg, Manitoba, and
occasionally running up the stream as far as'
Ambercombie, number of steamboats, are
engaged, chiefly in the delivery of the grain
to the railway elevators aud flour mills from,
points along the stream. ]
In 1882, freight to the amount of 63, 303,-
673 pounds was carried by river betwee4'
Fargo and Pembina. Z
Of course it is much less now. owing to the1
competition of railway lines built since thaE
date. Il
AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT.
The governor gives table of comparative
figures for 1885 and 1886 as to the acreage
and yield of corn. wheat oats and flax, anP
But it is the coming crop of 1887 which,
will establish Dakota in the land, beyond allI
competition, as the depot of food suppliesi
for the nation. There is every reason to be-ii
lieve that Dakota will, this year, produce the
lar"nSt '"h"at crop ever credited as the sea-
sons yield or any state or territory. 4
As Ior coril, NE area planted is largely in
excess of previous records, and the crop is III
the most promising condition.
The same is true OF barley, oats and rye.
Flax was not planted this season as ex.
tensively as heretofore, the acreage being
from % to 80 per cent. less than last year. ?;
The season thus far has been extremely
favorable for growing crops.
The SHOWS of the winter placed the ground
IN excellent shape for spring work: plowing,
seeding, narrowing and the various farming
operations followed from the 1st of March,,
with little or no Interruptions from bad
weather. April showers, the harvest time of
spring and summer, is extremely propitousl
The condition of the corn crop is especially
gratifying. From reports received by thiSI
office it is believed that this seasons S crops
will approximate 27,000, 900 bushels, or am
increase over last seasons yield of about 20
per cent Il
The area sown to wheat this spring 1SS7Jj
is estimated at $500, 3S9 acres, and the yield
from present indications will approximate
6o,OOO, 600 bushels-nearIy double the pro}
duct of 1886 or about one-seventh of thSl
entire wheat crop of the United States last
year.
Dakota is already credited with larger ant
nual wheat crop than is the yearly product Of
either Belgium, Egypt. the Argentine Ret.
public and Chill, or of Denmark, Greecef
Netherlands, Portugal, Servia, and SwederS
and Norway combined. I
This year her yield of this cereal will ap.;
proach very near to the whole product Of
Great Britain and Ireland.
In 1886. the territory raised more corn
mont, Massachusetts. Connecticut, New
Jersey, Delaware, Virginia, South CarolinaN
Alabama, Louisiana, West Virginia or CALI
fornla. and the present season will place her
ahead, as regards this farm product. Of one.
half the states of the union.
STOCK RAISING.
While the leading industry of Dakota is the
tillage of the soil, the live stock interests are
rapidly assuming rank of equal impOrtanceA
with respect to the amount of capital I'M
vested and the revenue derived therefrom. !,
The census OF 1880 gave the value of all
of 1879, at S5,64S, S14, while the value of
live stock was placed at Sc, ,463, 274. Il
In 1883 the, e,products of the farm had in!.
live stock to $4O, sos, s97.
On January l, 1887, the value of live
stock, in the territory, had reached the vast.
sum of S42. 92s, 33S, an amount nearly 50l
three principal farm products-wheat. cOrn,I
and oats, of the same year.
Ii we add to the sum given as the value Of
Dakota's live stock, the value of the dairy
products and of the wool clip for the same
year, some idea may be had of the rapidly in-i
creasing investment by our farmers i'll the
growing of stock.
In 1880 there were in the territory IL SO
horses, 2,703 mules, 40,572 milch cows,i
100, ,243 head of cattle, 80, 244 sheep andi
1894 hogs.
In 1886 these numbers had increased to
227, ,027 horses, 1864 mules, 1994S0'
milch COWS. 40, 934 cattle, 266, ,209 sheep,
and 42T ,1I6 hogs.
Official returns show the per centage of in!
crease in the number of animals for the
year ending Jan. 1, 1887, as follows: Horses
10 per cent, mules per cent, milch cows
10 per cent, cattle IS per cent, sheep l per
cent. and hogs 20 per cent.
In seven years the value of live stock in
Dakota has increased $50, ,465 ,064, or more
than an average increase OF So 100000 per
year.
The immense yield of the grain crops Of
Dakota have been heralded far and wide, and
deservedly too, yet we must not lose sight of
the fact that the live stock interests have con-
tributed a big share in building up the prest
ent wealth ana prosperity of the territoryi
and that each year is witnessing an astonish-.
ing increase of investment in this direction
by the farmer.
Nowhere in the world do the native grasses
grow with more luXurience and richness than
in Dakota and the crop is never-failng one.i
The prairie everywhere is covered with ~
luXuria ut growth of buffalo, gramma, and
blue stem grasses, equal for grazing and hay
to the tame varieties of the East. The entire
hay crop of the territory (Which in 1885
amounted to 1,527, ,9S7 tons), is made from
the native grasses. One has only to find u
vacant piece of prairie and his hay will cost
him but the expense of cutting and stacking
These native grasses cure to hay upon the
ground, and stock will fatten on the prairiesl
almost as rapidly as they do in the East feed
ing on grain.
The grass retains its richness throughout
the year, even when uncut, and in many
places stock is kept through the severest
winters solely by pasturing on the plains. lti
is moved at any time. making quite good
hay in the fall as during the summer mOnthS.t
Millions of acres of the native forage grows
and cures and goes to waste annually, uncut
and unfed.
If the grass growing on the prairies of Da-
kota could all be utilized, and turned into
beef, it would supply. the markets of the
world.
The native hay crop will add millions TO
the annual profit now derived from that
source, when the day arrives that not an
acre is allowed to go to waste.
There newer has been a time in the history
of Dakota when the prairies did not furnish,
an abundant supply of fodder for stock, no
the weather on the farm crops.
The climate being so dry and equable pre-
vents the prevalence of those diseases which
decima,e the flocks and herds in so many
other localities Notwithstanding the fact
that the past winter was an unusually severe
one and that many herds were on the range
without shelter or provision OF food. result
ing in greater percentage OF loss than
would have occurred had the cattle been
properly cared for, the loss during the year
was only per cent, no greater than is re-
corded i'll twenty -four of the states and terri
tories, and lefs than one-half the loss as conf
pared with some.
The rapid increase of fine stock in the terri
tory, and the tendency to i'm prove the grades
by importing high bred animals is very no.
ticeable of late years.
In those sections of Dakota, settled for any
length of time, the numerous herds of Here
ford, Polled Angus Shorthorn, Holstein or
Jersey cattle; Percheron, Clydesdale or
Englishre draft horses; speed ANIMALS of ex-
cellent pedigree. and Mell-bred mules. sheep